Suspected U.S. drone strike kills 5 in Pakistan

PESHAWAR — A suspected U.S. drone missile strike killed five people in northwestern Pakistan near the Afghan border Sunday evening, according to Pakistani security officials.

Officials and local villagers said the suspected drone fired two missiles and struck a suspected militants’ hideout in the Datta Khel town of the North Waziristan tribal region after a double-cabin pickup truck entered the premises.

“Five bodies were later recovered from debris of the house when two drones flying over the area disappeared,” Hashim Khan, a local tribesman, told NBC News.

The identities of the victims are not known.

Datta Khel is considered a stronghold of foreign militants linked to al-Qaeda, according to Pakistani security officials. Officials added that the people killed in Sunday’s attack are believed to be non-locals.

U.S. military officials typically do not comment on suspected drone strikes.